Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-04-15
KELLOGG NICHOLS MURDER.
The Trial Of Henry Schwartz
and Newton Watt, at
Morris, Ill
An Army Of Witnesses-Openfng Pleas
of the Counsel in the
Case.
ahoRR1s d11.) CORRESPONDENCE

ehoRR1s dLL.) CORRESPONDENCE
The trial of Schwartz and Watt, charged
with the murder of Kellogg Nichols, the
Rock Island express messenger, in March,
1856, has been in progress here for more
than q week. Nothing was done the first
week of the trial beyond securing q jury.
On Monday the opening speeches of coun-
sci we're made, and on Tuesday the intro
duction of evidence began. A large num-
Der of witnesses are on hand. Among
them are Conductors Danforth, Wagner
and Newcomer, Engineer Woods, Fire
man Briggs, B~aegageman Ramsey, Depot
master Wheeler. and Brakemen johnson,
Thomas and Mulligan, oil employees of the
Rock Island Road. w. A. Pinkerton is
also here to testify. Quite q number OF
other witnesses are on hand, among them
the express employees.
The courtroom seats about 800. The
Hon. Dorrance Debell, the presidingJu Judge,
sits ut the north end. He is perhaps 45
years old, has o finely shared head, and
very intelligent countenance. At his left
sit the twelve good men and true" who
constitute the jury. Nearly all of them are
middle-aged men, and seven of them are
farmers. Between the Judge and jury is q
table at which sit States Attorney Carter
and his associates in the prosecution, Judge
Wing and Mr.. Slough.
In front of the Judge a long table ex-
tends ntarly across the room. At one end
are eight or ten reporters, mn at the other
sit counsel for the defense-Col. Bowman
Of Philadelphia, Judge Baker and Messrs.
Case and Hogan of Chicago. and Judge
Jordan of Morris. Between counsel on
one side of the table are the two young men
WHO are on trial for their lives, Henry
Schwartz and Newton Watt. Directly back
of them two brothers Of Watt and
Schwartz's father occupy chairs.
States Attorney O. n. Carter, in his
opening address in behalf of the prosecu-
ton, said that the extreme care
taken in selecting the Jury indicated
the great importance of the case. He
spent considerable time in explaining the
law in its application to the case, dwelling
particularly on the nature and force to be
allowed circumstantial evidence, much of
which, it is understood, will figure in this
case. Next he spoke of reasonable
doubt. and cited authorities and decisions
to make clear what and only what the jury
was warranted in considering such when it
should come to make up its verdict. Mr..
Carter then briefly summarized the killing
of Express Messenger kellogg Nichols and
the circumstances Immediately connected
with the crime.
The Inflated train upon which the m1:r-
der was committed left Chicago at II
o'clock on the night of March u, Il year
ago. Wagner was conductor, Woods, en-
gineer; Briggs, fireman; Nichols, the muir
0erad man. eSnreS.moD. Watt opo nf tho
defendants, b%aggageman; Schwartz, the
other defendant, trout brakeman; and
johnson, rear brakeman. Watt, whose
position was that of font brakeman, had
on that night taken the place of the regula,
b%aggageman, Rumsey, who was sick.
Schwartz, the rear brakeman, took Watts
place as front brakeman, and Johnson, o
substitute, took Schwartz's usual place.
After explaining how Nichols was killed
between the time the train left Joliet and
its arrival Mt Morris, he said that the next
morning the world was asking who COM
mit:ed the horrible crime.
1--WE of the prosecution he said, con-
tinuing, have ceased to ask that question.
We believe we shall show YOU b.vond a
reasonable doubt that the defendants be-
fore you were the men whose minds
planned and whose hands committed that
murder"
Attorney Hogan made the opening state
ment in behalf of Schwartz. and Judge
Baker in behalf of Watt. Mr.. Case sad
the whole case against the defendants was
summed up in this: MESSENGER Nichols was
killed on a train on which they were.
Schwartz returned to Chicago on a train on
Which were found a sachel and q piece of
paper supposed to have some connection
with the robbed safe, and Schwartz had been
spending some money in $50 bills. That
was the whole case, Mr.. Hogan said. The
case was called The People against Henry
Schwartz and Newton Watt, but that was q
m,snomer: 1t should lie the Chicago, Rock
Isl nd Il Pacific Railroad Company against
Schwartz and Watt. The kock island
Company was one of the greatest corpora
ions In this country. and in this case had
resorted to all manner of deceit and false
practice III order to convict The defendants.
Recurring to Mr.. Calter's assertion that
Watt had admitted receiving the So, 900
package from Schwartz and 10 other admis.
sions claimed by the prosecution, MIR, Ho-
gan said admissions and confessions were
OF en- made under circumstances of com.
pu,slon or browbenting, and that they were
rightly looked upon MS very suspicious evil
dence.
Judge Fakcr, in behalf of Watt, replied
10 MI; CAREER opening speech, saving that
ne did not think the defense had been
treated fairly. The State had furnished a
list OF Witnesses by name simply, but Ind
not furnished addresses or iutimatcd wLnt
they expected to prove by them. The iury
would lind that the State would not be nblee
to prov that tie defendants or either Of
them actually killed Kellogg Nichols. RE
state had not intimated hat it ex, ectcd to
STOW that they were accessories beloro tbo
fact. II it had any srch EXP cta.lons 10
should have announced it. Judge Bnkar
men Went on to cxpla Il what constitutes
an accessory before the fact ard also after
a. iact. The defendant could not under
tne Indictment be convicted and punished
MS accessories af er the fact, and the State
lie presumed, would make no such cl i'm
'uaee Baker gave a long e> pluuntion rs
the past life of Watt, and to some eytan, ~ "
n parents and brothers, in order to show
at he had been we'll bronp m and II